LindaS

Awesome, Blackberry! I remember before I was sleeved, I was so amazed to see your pictures showing your progress. I even made a point to show my husband. The photos were (and still are) so inspirational!

I had really thick hair to begin with, and I was losing hair starting about 3 months. I would get handfuls of loose hair when I washed my hair. I spoke to my stylist about it. Normally when she would cut my hair, she would also thin my hair. I stopped that after surgery. She recommended that I not wash my hair as frequently since that seemed to be the time when I lost the most. I've been washing my hair about every other day. My hair loss has slowed down a lot. I am about 7 months out now.

I've lost 7 inches from my breasts, but my cup size is still a D. My actual cup size before surgery may have been higher, but I was wearing a 40D. I'm now in a 34 to 36 D. The nice thing is that my breasts have lost proportionately with the rest of my body. I am not pointing south, but I have noticed that they are a bit deflated compared to before. I haven't ruled out a lift or fill in my future, but I said that even before my WLS.

My license expires this summer, and I hadn't thought of that! I had already decided that I wasn't going to renew by mail though because I want an updated picture!

I walk outside (I hate my treadmill). I use a stability ball and do core exercises with that. I also do Zumba. I've done the real classes, the Xbox version, and I just go the video series. I love all of it, but the Xbox version can be frustrating. I'm glad I have the videos to use at home now. I started the 10-day challenge today. You do a different DVD every day for 10 days and at the end, you are supposed to be down a pants/dress size. I also have a few workout DVDs. One I have but haven't tried yet is Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.

When you start the program, pay attention to your body! I tried it a few years ago (before surgery), and my ankle became very inflamed (previous break). I kept at it until it was so painful I was barely walking anywhere. I ended up finding out that I have severe degenerative arthritis in my ankle, and I am not able to run. This was before my surgery, and I had been taking pain pills for arthritis almost daily prior to my surgery. I haven't had to take it at all since surgery. I might be able to run now that I have less weight, but I really need to be careful to not aggravate my arthritis. I am walking regularly and doing exercises like Zumba. I don't want to push it too far with running.

My doctor didn't clear me for any exercising other than walking until after 6 weeks. Now at home, I use a stability ball, hand weights and a resistance band. I use a variety of exercises including some videos including Zumba and 10 minute workouts.

It also depends on how quickly you can get appointments that you need. Some take longer than others -- if I had to see a cardiologist, I wouldn't have had surgery so soon. My psych eval and sleep study were able to be scheduled very quickly. I had surgery just over 5 weeks after my seminar.

My mood has changed. I didn't think I was unhappy before, but I was tired and constantly thinking about my size. I would sit in a chair and think about the sides digging into me, etc. I wouldn't say anything to anyone, but my negative mood about that came through in my interactions. Now, I'm not thinking about how I fit (or don't fit). I don't have that negative talk going on in my head, so I am more positive outside of my head and in. It's a change that people have noticed. I didn't have an unhappy life and nothing has really changed in my life, but I no longer have this negative self talk interfering with me enjoying my life.

I have no idea how you guys keep from telling people! I couldn't keep my mouth shut. Before my surgery, and even for a couple months after all I wanted to talk about was my weight and my surgery. I realized myself that I was talking way too much about it, and I made changes. I rarely mention it now, but I think about it so much. I'm not sure I could keep it a secret even if I tried. LOL.

NSV is a non-scale victory. The things that make you realize you've lost weight that have nothing to do with the numbers on a scale.

Oh how very awesome! You look fantastic, and I agree with others -- it looks too big.

This is something my husband commented on as the biggest change in me that he has seen. I'm happier. I have so many surprise pictures of me when I was heavier, and I was frowning in most of them. Now, the camera is more likely to catch me smiling. I never thought I was unhappy before, but I know my unhappiness with my body impacted my thoughts.

You look wonderful, and I don't think you look heavy at all in that second picture. If you are seeing it as you say you are, you might want to look again.

The lighting in the newer picture is awesome. It really brings a glow to your eyes. And I agree with another poster, your lips give you away. LOL

My surgeon's office sponsored a formal Valentine's ball. This is what I wore.

I click on the "like" button, and a green status bar shows up briefly. Before it updates, the status bar disappears, and the button hasn't been pressed.

I'm using Firefox 9.0.1.

Have fun and enjoy the attention!

This is a picture of my dad and me when I was about 16 years old. My dad weighed over 400 pounds. This is the only picture I have where you can see his stomach because he was very good at making sure his shirt was long enough to cover it up. He died in 2006. I was 35, and I was so MAD at him because he died from complications of his weight. For the last 10 years of his life, the quality of his life was horrible. For the last 5 years, he spent most of it in and out of hospitals. His highest weight was almost 500 pounds. When I married in 1989, he was at the lowest he had weighed in many years at about 350 pounds. I loved/love my dad. I never saw him as fat. But when he left me (died), I was so angry at him. At the time of his death, I wasn't that overweight. I weighed about 180. I gained weight after he died. And when I finally realized what the weight was preventing me to do, I tried losing it. This is why I finally decided to have WLS. When I was about 10, my dad was going to have WLS. It was scheduled. He made it into the surgery room and something the anesthesiologist told him scared him. The guy said my dad had a 50/50 chance of not making it through the surgery. There was some concerns about his weight pressing down on his lungs. I wonder now that if he had gone through it, what would my memories of him have been like? I remember him sitting or laying down on things. He would tell me to get this or do that for him. He had a bell he would ring to get my attention. I was his legs. He didn't go to my concerts or games or talk to my teachers. If he had weighed less, he would have been more a part of my life. He would have been a full participant in my life instead of someone watching from the car or hearing about it later. My kids would know him. As an adult, I remember thinking how great wheelchairs were because it allowed my dad to go with us places he couldn't walk to. I loved my dad. I love my kids. I chose this surgery to give my kids something that they don't even know they would have missed. In grad school, I wrote a memoir titled "Fat Man's Daughter," where I dealt with many of my issues about my dad and myself. Here's a link to the first chapter: http://lindasherwood.com/wp/category/fat-mans-daughter/chapter-one/ This Suethsayings blog talks about the "conspiracy of silence" surrounding weight loss surgery. I want people to know about the impact not doing something has on lives. If my dad had WLS, I think he might still be here.